Note that Húrin of Emyn Arnen was not the first Steward of Gondor, but he was the first to establish a line of descent, so that all the Stewards that followed were descended from him in some degree. In the diagram, names shown in bold are those who held the office of Steward.

(A period of at least 1,080 years between c.III 541 and III 1621)We know that the office of Steward was created by KingRómendacil I, so the first holder of the title must have taken up their duties before Rómendacil's death in III 541. None of these early Stewards are recorded, however, until the time of KingMinardil, more than a thousand years later. Including Rómendacil himself, this period covers the reigns of seventeen Kings of Gondor, so there would presumably have been a similar number of Stewards before we meet Húrin of Emyn Arnen.

(A period of 302 years between III 1634 and III 1936)During this period, five different Kings sat on the throne of Gondor, and each of them would have been served by at least one Steward (one of the Kings - Tarondor - ruled for 162 years, and it seems likely that he would have had at least two Stewards during his long reign). Like the many Stewards before Húrin, none of their names are recorded, and all we can say for sure is that they were descended from Húrin's House.

(Steward to KingOndoher, who reigned between III 1936 and III 1944)(De facto ruler of Gondor for 1 year after Ondoher's death, to III 1945)(Steward to KingEärnil II for 53 years to III 1998)A descendant of Húrin, Pelendur was the first Steward to exercise power in his own right. After the death of KingOndoher left Gondor without an obvious heir to the throne, he effectively ruled the kingdom for a year until a successor was found. Pelendur established the Stewardship as hereditary - after his time, the title was passed down from father to son through the generations.

(Ruled for 34 years to III 2278)Like his father before him, Túrin bore the name of a great hero of the First Age. This trend would continue for many generations - the five following Stewards, up to and including Steward Boromir, bore the names of historical figures from the First Age.

(Ruled for 117 years to III 2395)Hador was born when his father was already old, and lived for a hundred and fifty years, so that his rule over the Gondorians was longer than that of any other Steward. He was the last of the truly long-lived Dúnedain of Gondor until the time of Aragorn.

(Ruled for 31 years to III 2984)Ecthelion II saw the power of Mordor arise in earnest, after Mount Doom burst into flame in the year he succeeded his father as Steward. He was aided in his struggle by a mysterious figure known as Thorongil, who was later discovered to be none other than the youthful Aragorn.

(No dates recorded)There is no canonical record of Faramir's son, but the texts underlying Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings list 'Elboron' as his heir. It is unclear whether or not Tolkien intended this name to stand.

Notes

Note that the marginal numbers shown starting with Mardil refer specifically to the Ruling Stewards of Gondor. There had been many other holders of the office before Mardil's time, and though we do not know their exact number, he was probably at least the thirtieth Steward.

4

Many early editions of The Lord of the Rings date the death of Belecthor II as III 2852. That was apparently a simple typographical error, but it persisted through many editions. More recent copies of the book carry the correct date, III 2872.